Awards

From Powells.com

Staff Pick

With hilarity, ribaldry, and some very poignant moments of tenderness, George Saunders tells a wondrous tale of love, loss, longing, and time — raising important questions of both mortality and morality while mesmerizing the reader with an absorbing mix of trademark wit, spirited dialogue, and impressive technique. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com

George Saunders definitely couldn't let his first novel be ordinary, not run-of-the-mill, not average. In fact, Lincoln in the Bardo is one of the most unusual novels I've ever read: the format, the plot, and the characters are all completely unique. Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, mourns the death of his son, Willie, and sneaks away in the night to spend a few more solitary minutes with his boy. In the cemetery, Willie is caught in the "Bardo" — the space between transitions — waiting for whatever comes next. Tapping the myriad other cemetary dwellers as a sort of Greek Chorus, Saunders holds forth on life, death, and everything in between. His quiet take on parental mourning is heartbreaking, and Lincoln's grief is gorgeously depicted.
Throughout the novel are excerpts from original source materials — some real, some fiction — the identification of which is part of the fun of this wholly original story. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

Yes! This book hits you in your gut! Your brain! Your nose! Your eyes and ears! This is everything a novel can dare to do. And still, it is delightfully fun and funny! You feel an immense joy when reading it, a great care for your spirit, and a thrilling expansion of your brain. Recommended By Bobby E., Powells.com

I gobbled up George Saunders's very first novel. Lincoln in the Bardo deserves more than a measly blurb; it deserves your whole, heartfelt attention. So funny. So original. So GEORGE. Recommended By Jake A., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments

The long-awaited first novel from the author of Tenth of December: a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and invented

February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. "My poor boy, he was too good for this earth," the president says at the time. "God has called him home." Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body.

From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state — called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo — a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.
Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction’s ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end?

Review

"A masterpiece." Zadie Smith

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"It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read, except that the grotesque humor, pathos, and, ultimately, human kindness at its core mark it as a work that could come only from Saunders." The National

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"Exhilarating.... Ruthless and relentless in its evocation not only of Lincoln and his quandary, but also of the tenuous existential state shared by all of us." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Review

Review

"The novel beats with a present-day urgency — a nation at war with itself, the unbearable grief of a father who has lost a child, and a howling congregation of ghosts, as divided in death as in life, unwilling to move on." Vanity Fair

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"Ingenious . . . Saunders — well on his way toward becoming a twenty-first-century Twain — crafts an American patchwork of love and loss, giving shape to our foundational sorrows." Vogue

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"A luminous feat of generosity and humanism." Colson Whitehead, The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

George Saunders is the author of two short-story collections, Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Heming-way Award. His work has received two National Magazine Awards and three times been included in O. Henry Awards collections. In 1999 he was chosen by The New Yorker as one of the twenty best American fiction writers age forty and under. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.

George Saunders on PowellsBooks.Blog

Years ago — maybe in the '90s — we were visiting my wife's cousin in DC. We were driving by Oak Hill Cemetery. She pointed out that there's a certain crypt that Willie Lincoln had been buried in back in the 1860s. That was news to me. I didn't even know that the president's son had died then. Then she just added this little throwaway detail...

George Saunders on PowellsBooks.Blog

I’m not a person who listens to music while writing, but in the last throes of writing this book, I sometimes found myself, while on a break, listening to a handful of songs on repeat, mainly to try and viscerally remind myself of what intensity felt like and to quite literally re-energize myself...

What Our Readers Are Saying

Average customer rating 4.9 (7 comments)

I absolutely adored this book. Using the concept of the Tibetan bardo was a stroke of genius, but the reader doesn't really need to know anything about that to be completely absorbed by this book.
Another point: while it is mostly a heart-breakingly sad book, there are moments of pure humor.
Love.

DURING THIS TIME PERIOD THE COUNTRY ALWAYS THOUGHT OF LINCOLN'S HEARTFELT FEELINGS FOR HIS SON WHO PASSED AWAY. HERE A MAN HONEST AND YET KEPT. STRONG DURING A THIS COUNTRY'S SEVERE SEPARATION. YET STAYED STRONG FOR THE PEOPLE. THIS BOOK IS HISTORY IN A RARE VIEW. BUT. DRAWS THE READER INTO CONTINUING TO LEARN MORE. THIS IS THE KIND OF BOOK DRAWS MY ATTENTION TO THE END. I DO WANT TO SAY THIS. I COULD UNDERSTAND HIS STRONG AFFECTION FOR THE SON WHO PASSED AND WHY HE WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE TO HOLD AND PASS HIS LOVE ONTO HIM AS ANYONE HONEST PARENT WOULDYET STAY STRONG FOR OTHERS AROUND THEM

When I first started to read this novel, I didn't like it. I put it aside and went back later and was amazed at how good this book is. I couldn't put it down. The premise is so unlike anything I have read recently. I confess I probably would not have read it if Powell's had not chosen it as indispensable. Give it a try, it won't disappoint.

One of the most creatively written novels I have read. In fact, I was a little confused at first and wondering what was what, but was still endlessly fascinated by the strange literary landscape in which I found myself. Once I had grown accustomed to Saunders' unique style, I was thoroughly enchanted by what must be the book of the year.
President Abraham Lincoln's young son, Willie, has died. The president is understandably distraught and goes to the cemetery (bardo) after dark on Willie's first night there, in order to visit his son's body one more time. The reader is presented with a series of incredible events on both sides: the realms of the living and the dead. Compelling characters, heartbreaking stories, and hilarious dialogue are abundant in what is sure to remain one of my favorite books.

"Lincoln in the Bardo" is weird, crass, gorgeous and melancholy. The novel is nominally about Abraham Lincoln during the period just before and after his 11-year-old son, Willie, dies of typhoid. But it's also full of the ghostly beings who inhabit the cemetery where Willie is buried and their reflections on their own previous lives. In that way, it reminded me just a tiny bit of "Spoon River Anthology," although this book really is unlike any other I've encountered.

I just finished listening to this today and am going back to read it as I don't want to miss a thing. the audio is unlike anything I've heard, with a cast of 166 led by the author, David Sedaris, appearances by Susan Sarandon. I will listen to it again. magical and melancholy, the story of young Willie Lincoln's death and his stopping place captures the imagination and is a literary and audio achievement. the historical references make up a record that is much like the telephone game where the shape of the moon or the color of Abe's eyes come into play. I enjoyed recognizing some of the books on Lincoln and guessing which were Saunder's creation. clever and entertaining, this is not one you want to miss. I highly recommend the audio, although I usually listen to nonfiction. throw in the text version so you don't miss anything!

So Very Good!
You start this book wondering what's going on. The structure of the book makes you work, but once you get into it, the structure makes perfect sense. I leaned a lot about sadness, the power of not letting go and the relief found in accepting. This is all set against the backdrop of the loss of a child and the sadness of President Lincoln. This is a quick read, but you will be wondering about all the minor characters well after the book finishes.